OCLC Research and ALISE name recipients of 2013 Library and Information Science Research Grants

OCLC Research and ALISE name recipients of 2013 Library and Information Science Research Grants

DUBLIN, Ohio, USA, 6 February 2013—OCLC Research and the Association for Library and Information Science Education (ALISE) have awarded research grants to Lynne Bowker of the University of Ottawa, Kyung-Sun Kim of the University of Wisconsin–Madison, and Sei-Ching Joanna Sin of Nanyang Technological University and Sanghee Oh of Florida State University. The awards were presented January 24 at the ALISE 2013 Annual Conference Awards Reception in Seattle, Washington.

Lynne Bowker, Ph.D., of the School of Information Studies at the University of Ottawa, will consult with Spanish-speaking newcomers to Ottawa who are users of the Ottawa Public Library (OPL) in the project, “Can machine translation facilitate outreach to newcomers? A pilot study investigating the needs of Spanish-speaking users of the Ottawa Public Library.” The results of this study will help to determine if machine translation can be used as a partial solution for finding a cost-effective means of translation that would allow OPL to offer a wider range of translated texts to the under-served newcomer community.

Kyung-Sun Kim, Ph.D. of the School of Library and Information Studies at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, and Sei-Ching Joanna Sin, Ph.D., of the Wee Kim Wee School of Communication and Information at Nanyang Technological University, will use a combination of surveys and focus group methods to collect data from over 600 undergraduate students in the United States and Singapore in the project, “Social Media as Information Sources: Use and Evaluation of Information from Social Media.” The focus of this study is to investigate what types of social media are used as information sources and how they are used and evaluated. Based on this research, suggestions will be made to improve information literacy education and social media interfaces, which will support the effective use and evaluation of social media as information sources.

Sanghee Oh, Ph.D., of the School of Library and Information Studies at Florida State University, will investigate the health information needs and sources people most likely seek and share in social Q&A by analyzing the content of health questions and answers. Findings from the project, “Understanding Health Information Behaviors in Social Q&A: Text Mining of Health Questions and Answers in Yahoo! Answers,” will help health information professionals better understand the health information behaviors of their patients or customers and improve their services or systems.

OCLC/ALISE Library and Information Science Research Grants support research that advances librarianship and information science, promotes independent research to help librarians integrate new technologies into areas of traditional competence, and contributes to a better understanding of the library environment. Full-time academic faculty (or the equivalent) in schools of library and information science worldwide are eligible to apply for grants of up to $15,000. Proposals are evaluated by a panel selected by OCLC and ALISE. Supported projects are expected to be conducted within approximately one year from the date of the award and, as a condition of the grant, researchers must furnish a final project report at the end of the grant period.

About ALISEALISE (Association for Library and Information Science Education) is a non-profit organization that serves as the intellectual home of university faculty in graduate programs in library and information science in North America. Its mission is to promote excellence in research, teaching, and service and to provide an understanding of the values and ethos of library and information science. ALISE serves 500 individual members and more than 60 institutional members, primarily in the United States and Canada. For more, visit www.alise.org.

About OCLC

Founded in 1967, OCLC is a nonprofit, membership, computer library service and research organization dedicated to the public purposes of furthering access to the world’s information and reducing library costs. More than 72,000 libraries in 170 countries have used OCLC services to locate, acquire, catalog, lend, preserve and manage library materials. Researchers, students, faculty, scholars, professional librarians and other information seekers use OCLC services to obtain bibliographic, abstract and full-text information when and where they need it. OCLC and its member libraries cooperatively produce and maintain WorldCat, the world’s largest online database for discovery of library resources. Search WorldCat on the Web at www.worldcat.org. For more information, visit www.oclc.org.

OCLC Research is one of the world’s leading centers devoted exclusively to the challenges facing libraries in a rapidly changing information technology environment. We work with the community to collaboratively identify problems and opportunities, prototype and test solutions, and share findings through publications, presentations and professional interactions. For more, visit www.oclc.org/research.

OCLC, WorldCat and WorldCat.org are trademarks and/or service marks of OCLC Online Computer Library Center, Inc. Third-party product, service and business names are trademarks and/or service marks of their respective owners.